00:00You see what I put out on X this morning when I shared out the show?
00:05I guess I should look.
00:07Rick from Pawn Stars behind the desk saying,
00:10best I could do is Mario Hazonia.
00:12You wanted Jalen Brown.
00:14You wanted Giannis.
00:15You wanted LeBron.
00:17Best I could do for you is Mario Hazonia.
00:20Jonathan Kaminga signed a trade.
00:22You are definitely...
00:25You are definitely taking your copium this weekend.
00:33What's that mean?
00:36You're trying to cope.
00:38Yeah.
00:39Dude, imagine beating the drum for a year and it doesn't happen.
00:43Imagine how you'd feel.
00:45Sucks.
00:46You have to remember, Nick wanted to give up actual assets for LeBron
00:49instead of just getting him for free.
00:51I'll tell you this.
00:52They should have done that.
00:53They should have done that last summer.
00:56If we're being real, there were four teams that reached out to Rich Paul
00:59about trading for LeBron last year.
01:02The Cavs were one of them.
01:03They should have just done that.
01:05Because what is LeBron?
01:06Why do you want to win?
01:06What if Rich Paul said thanks but no thanks?
01:09He wants to be loved.
01:10You traded Darius to the Clippers and you put James Harden there.
01:15So, no, we're not interested.
01:17This was before.
01:18This was last summer.
01:19You still had Darius.
01:21Oh, last summer.
01:22Darius, Donovan, LeBron.
01:24Well, Rich was still working on getting Darius out of Cleveland, I think, at the time.
01:28So, I don't think that would have happened.
01:30You got to understand, Rich Paul runs the NBA.
01:33Remember when we were wildcard suitors for Kevin Durant?
01:37I'd take KD right now.
01:39I would.
01:41In the realm of trying to find a way.
01:43Is that going to be the next banner for the Cavaliers?
01:45Had a chance to get LeBron back a third time.
01:48We're wildcard suitors for Kevin Durant.
01:52I feel like we're turning back into the Detroit Lions of the NFL where you hang a banner because you
01:58won a game.
01:58I'm just trying to chase something because this East is so improved.
02:02And I can't believe that this week, like, I'm literally going to be on Mario Hazonia watch.
02:07Guy hasn't played in the league since COVID.
02:09Yeah, isn't he overseas?
02:10Yeah, but that's what we have to cling on to, Daryl.
02:14That's our hope.
02:15Everyone wants to victory lap me.
02:16Call in and victory lap me.
02:17216-474-0092.
02:19Call in and do your LeBron was never coming home, Nick.
02:23Okay, enjoy watching Mario Hazonia play 82 games this year.
02:26Sorry.
02:27I don't think anyone's doing victory laps today.
02:30That's the thing.
02:31It's just sometimes reality hitches square between the eyeballs,
02:37and you just have to take it for what it is, you go with it, and you move on.
02:44Like, I mean.
02:45In an offseason with Brown on the move and Giannis on the move and Kawhi Leonard is in Toronto.
02:52The Raptors, by the way, had the calves on the ropes.
02:55And their legs looked wobbly.
02:58We'll see if Kawhi actually gets to do anything for Toronto.
03:01All this talent coming to the East.
03:03Don't worry.
03:03Fear not.
03:04But Mario Hazonia is liking TikTok comments saying that he's coming to Cleveland.
03:11Oh, boy.
03:13Great seats still available.
03:15Jonathan, Kaminga doesn't do it for you either?
03:16No.
03:19A little bit.
03:20Need a wing.
03:21Kaminga's an exciting player.
03:22You need a wing.
03:23I know.
03:23I'm saying this tongue-in-cheek.
03:25Like, Hazonia would be a welcomed addition at this point because you genuinely need a wing.
03:29Because he's a body.
03:30Yeah.
03:31And you need a wing.
03:32So, like, some of it is tongue-in-cheek.
03:34Has a pulse, plays basketball.
03:36I think, like, Kaminga would improve the Cavs.
03:38Hazonia would improve the Cavs.
03:40Because you need a wing.
03:42But it's like, dude, you look at this Eastern Conference.
03:44Like, the Heat got Giannis.
03:45The Raptors are going to get Kawhi when that investigation thing wraps up.
03:50The Sixers got Jalen Brown and the greatest player of this generation.
03:53And, sorry, best I could do is Mario Hazonia, Jonathan Kaminga.
03:59And, Kaminga, you'd have to give up shooting in Strews.
04:02You'd have to give up your backup ball handler in Schroeder.
04:05Like, this is what they've done.
04:07They've done this to you.
04:08Not me.
04:09It wasn't Nick Podoma that did this to you.
04:11The Cavs have done this to you because they are obsessed with this core of Harden, Mitchell, Mobley, and Allen.
04:17And they won't part ways with those guys, even though the roster construction makes little to no sense.
04:23And the greatest basketball player of this generation just told you that even though you were four games away from
04:29making it back to the NBA Finals,
04:31there was another team in the East that didn't even get out of the second round that he believes is
04:36a better spot to compete for a championship this year.
04:39It's a bummer.
04:41That's the copium.
04:42It's just, there is no copium.
04:44It's just sad.
04:45I don't think that that's the message LeBron is sending.
04:48I don't think LeBron's sending any message other than, hey, I'm looking for another mountain to climb at the end
04:54of my career.
04:55Already climbed it in Cleveland.
04:57Nothing to do there.
04:58Nothing.
04:59There's nothing left for me to do in Cleveland.
05:05Already did it.
05:06Went to four straight NBA Finals.
05:08Won a championship.
05:09Beat the best regular season team in NBA history and did it in the most improbable historic fashion you can
05:17imagine.
05:18There's no topping that.
05:21Now, the Sixers, they haven't won an NBA title since 1983.
05:25LeBron had his heart set on the Knicks.
05:28Okay?
05:29Who had an even longer drought, which came to an end.
05:32Partially at the Cavs' expense and also the expense of the Spurs.
05:37I'll say this.
05:38Here's where my disappointment lies, Nick.
05:42It's not with LeBron not coming back.
05:45My disappointment lies squarely with Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, Jared Allen, Max Strews, and the rest of the
06:00Cavaliers and Kenny Atkinson because they blew it this past season.
06:10That's very fair.
06:11The Eastern Conference, I say this tongue-in-cheek because there's no such thing as a layup in the postseason,
06:20okay?
06:21So, I say this somewhat sarcastically.
06:25But the Eastern Conference last season, I should say, was a layup compared to what it's going to be this
06:30year.
06:32And they had a golden opportunity.
06:36I still think they could have beat the Knicks.
06:40Because I don't agree with Kenny.
06:42I don't think Kenny Atkinson can sit up there and say, you know, we are the better team or we
06:48are the better team when you get swept in a series.
06:53You can't say that.
06:54You can't do that.
06:56Because that's just not reality.
06:58I don't know if you guys follow the expected outcome and the analytics and all that.
07:02But really, LeBron's on the Cavs.
07:04Yeah, analytically speaking, LeBron James is a Cavalier once again.
07:10This offseason makes last year feel like a huge missed opportunity.
07:15And with all due respect to the 16-2 postseason record that the Knicks had, okay, they blew through everybody,
07:20including the Cavaliers.
07:21I understand that.
07:23I still felt like they were a beatable team.
07:26The Cavaliers beat themselves.
07:28And this offseason, Daryl, this offseason, the lack of moves that the Cavs made, forget about that for a second.
07:34The NBA, this offseason, proved your point.
07:38They believed that the Knicks are not good.
07:41Had they gotten through the Knicks, they would have destroyed the Spurs.
07:44The Cavaliers would have.
07:46Okay?
07:47That's why I'm disappointed.
07:48That's why I'm frustrated.
07:51And that's why I'm a little bit exasperated with this offseason, the lack of movement, the lack of change, this
07:59constant, well, next year we're just going to be better by osmosis by showing up.
08:04No!
08:05That's not how this works.
08:07Even NBA champions go into the offseason and change up their teams.
08:13Okay?
08:16You're actually worse off today than you were when the season ended after Game 4 in the Conference Finals.
08:23You are worse off today, and I'm not even talking about the moves that have been made around the league.
08:30I'm not talking about the Sixers getting Dean Wade from you, which was a loss for you, and then trading
08:37for Jalen Brown, and then getting LeBron James.
08:40Okay?
08:42Not, well, we'll see what happens with Kawhi, with Toronto, and how that whole investigation and situation.
08:47I don't know how you penalize the Raptors for stuff that happened in Los Angeles with the Clippers.
08:54Right.
08:54But it appears that's what the commissioner is intent on doing.
08:59We'll see how the Kawhi thing, but let's say the Kawhi thing works out and is allowed to go through
09:04and he's, you know, there's no repercussions or anything like that, right?
09:08The Raptors got better.
09:11The Heat got better with Giannis.
09:13Okay?
09:14And so when you're inactivity, and that's what it's been for, and understandably so.
09:21Like, I get why they've been inactive.
09:24First of all, they were in the second apron until James Harden opted out.
09:27Right?
09:29James is being a team guy right now and waiting to sign his contract so that Kobe Altman can execute
09:36whatever it is now Kobe Altman has in plan B.
09:38LeBron clearly was plan A.
09:40All the eggs were clearly in that basket.
09:43Okay?
09:44Now it's time to pivot and go to plan B.
09:46So now let's see what Kobe Altman's about.
09:49LeBron's off the table.
09:50All right?
09:51He made everybody wait.
09:52He made the Warriors wait.
09:53He made the Heat wait.
09:54You weren't the other ones standing at the altar waiting for him.
09:58Heat fans are furious, by the way.
10:00That's fine.
10:01You got two championships, Adam.
10:02Shut up.
10:03That's how I feel about Heat fan.
10:05Okay?
10:07You're spitting, though, right now, Daryl.
10:09You are.
10:10Because, okay, Kobe, like, you sat on your hands.
10:13You waited for LeBron.
10:14You left the door open.
10:15Whether they thought it was going to happen or you didn't.
10:17Your eggs were mostly in that basket.
10:19How do you get off the mat right now?
10:21Because let's be real about this.
10:23He's on the mat.
10:24Like, the Sixers threw a jab at you.
10:27The Heat threw a right hook at you.
10:29You know, Toronto came with a spinning roundhouse that kind of partially connected.
10:35Like, Kobe Altman's on the mat.
10:36Like, is Kaminga enough?
10:38Is Hazonia enough for you to believe that the Cavs could do more in the postseason than
10:43what they did last year?
10:45I look at it through this lens, dude.
10:46I think the NBA this offseason is a major point for you.
10:52There's nothing that you even have to come on here and say.
10:54Because the Cavs got swept by the Knicks.
10:58Everybody yet still comes to the East.
11:01The Knicks put on this 16-2 postseason run.
11:03Everybody comes to the East because they don't believe in New York.
11:06They don't believe in Cleveland.
11:08They said this is there for the taking in the Eastern Conference.
11:12I just am not going to sit here and cry over spilled milk.
11:16It's done.
11:17It happened on Friday afternoon.
11:19Nothing I have to say about it changes the situation.
11:23I think it's a crazy decision by LeBron.
11:27I would not have chosen to go to Philadelphia.
11:30But, hey, that's what he wants to do.
11:32God bless him.
11:33I said it after he won the championship in 2016.
11:37And I know the afternoon boys like to, you know, rib me and call me a politician.
11:42And I apparently flip-flopped like a fish.
11:45But, like, I want to be consistent.
11:47Once he won the championship for the Cavaliers, we were good.
11:50We were square.
11:51Made up for the decision.
11:53We're good.
11:54Okay?
11:55You are free to live your life professionally and personally in any way you want.
12:00You follow your heart and go do you.
12:04And that's exactly what LeBron has done.
12:06He went to the Lakers for eight years.
12:08Won a title there.
12:09Wasn't appreciated.
12:10Realized it.
12:11And got out.
12:13Wanted to go to the Knicks.
12:14Oops.
12:14They won the NBA championship.
12:16Well, so he can't go to the Big Apple and be the hero in New York.
12:19Which was a dream of his.
12:21Clearly.
12:22Okay?
12:24So, well, what did he do?
12:27He pivoted.
12:27Well, I'm going to go to Philadelphia.
12:29They did trade for Jalen Brown.
12:30They got Embiid there.
12:31He's healthy, right?
12:32They got a pretty good lineup.
12:34Yeah.
12:35And a four-decade title drought for me to try to go snap.
12:39And he doesn't have to carry the load.
12:40He doesn't have to do it all himself.
12:43Okay?
12:44Those fans are brutal.
12:45Good luck with that.
12:48But that's what he wanted to do.
12:50Okay, fine.
12:51I'm more focused on now what do the Cavs do?
12:54They sat around and waited as they should have.
12:58I know you're on Kobe right now because he hasn't done anything, Nick.
13:01But I understand why.
13:05James opted out, sat and waited to see what LeBron was going to do.
13:09Okay, he didn't pick Cleveland.
13:10Let's move on.
13:11Now let's do something this week, Kobe.
13:14That's what this is about.
13:16That's what we're resided to right now.
13:18Like, we're keeping tabs on a potential Cam Johnson trade.
13:22Maybe Herb Jones.
13:24Herb Jones would move me.
13:25You obviously got to trade for him.
13:27What are you trading for him to get him back?
13:29I thought it was very fascinating as well that Greg was not that high on the Kaminga thing.
13:37Right.
13:37Because everybody's really peddling Jonathan Kaminga.
13:41But he points out, okay, Kaminga's not a great shooter.
13:43And you'd have to move on from Struis, who's one of your better shooters and one of your more physical
13:49guys.
13:50And you'd probably have to move off Schroeder just because of the money.
13:54And that's a backup ball handler.
13:56So, like, you would be giving up a lot to get somebody like Jonathan Kaminga.
14:02Whereas maybe there's smarter moves to be made.
14:04Maybe Cam Johnson would be smarter.
14:06Maybe Herb Jones.
14:062-1-6-4-7-4-0-0-92.
14:09We are going to bring in some phones.
14:11Yeah.
14:11But, like, I just, you know, again, I am past the morning stage, if you will, when it comes to
14:20LeBron being elsewhere.
14:21I'm on to what's next for the Cavaliers.
14:24Because, yeah, I mean, what's done is done.
14:27Yes, you sat around and you waited.
14:29Now you have the decision.
14:30Now you have to move forward.
14:31You have to pivot.
14:32You have to move on.
14:33And there's a lot of what he said is true.
14:36There's a lot of wings in this Eastern Conference.
14:38And now it's an arms race to catch up to it.
14:40Like, you know LeBron is not your wing.
14:42That's a fact.
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